Heh! What a hoot, Cathy, that story about Opa! So you are the 'real
deal'--the 'Van' isn't just for show!!!
I've got mixed feelings about the driving over there. I lived in
Germany for 3 years (in my teens), and Italy for 4 (20s). I travelled
by bike in almost every European country except the Scandinavian
ones. (I know, I know, Arthur, it is probably perfect up there, and
the Volvos probably have little mechanisms to pick you up & dust you
off after they run you down.) Though I first got into 'serious'
cycling over there, I have to say, I always felt more threatened by
the aggro driving of continental Europeans than the general
obliviousness and occasional meanness of US drivers. One false move
over there and you are dead. The speeds are that bad. One false move
here, and there is usually a little give somewhere. Even in an actual
crash here, the speeds are such that you *might* survive; over there,
no way. There are no small crashes in Europe.
Yup, in Europe they are much more 'expert' drivers, but they still
manage to kill each other on the road at the same rate as Americans.
There is a lot of stuff conspiring against cars there, given the
medieval road system. The tolerances are so much tighter (narrow,
curvy roads w/lots of blind spots, etc.). Yet, armed with their
'expertise,' they push the limit of road & machine no matter what the
conditions or where--city, country, wherever. It is no coincidence
that the car ads with the most aggressive driving featured & promoted
tend to be European. That really is how they drive.
That equivalent death rate is on a per population basis. On a per
mile basis, they kill each other at almost twice the rate (they drive
about 1/2 the miles that we do; I think it is because they use
kilometers--bwahahahaah! Ok. Not funny). I even biked in
bike-friendly NL a few times and still managed to nearly get killed
on a couple of occasions. They expect all bikes to be going at the
'oma fietser' rate of speed, and frequently--expertly--misjudge as
they cut across those sanctified bike lanes.
The US engineers would say, 'See, you just need to improve the roads
and then things would be safe.' Uh-huh. Well, in observing a several
of my continental European friends who have have lived over here, all
they do is adjust to the road conditions and drive even faster and
more aggressively.
At car indoctrination school they must teach them to red-line
everything.....safely, of course.
So I admire their laws and leaving no room for tolerance in
prosecution, but, in the end, it all comes down to basic individual
judgment which I think is positively lacking in their driving habits.
Yes, judgment. A matter wholly separate from the law....Yes, judgment
v. The Law....makes me think of a certain statewide bicycle
organization and its air tight case against democracy....
Did I just say that? I'm not obsessing! Really, I'm not!
-Mike
Maybe this is why NO ONE in the Netherlands (except us dumb american
tourists) wears a bike helmet. Well, this and the laws:
http://www.transalt.org/press/magazine/034Fall/18europe.html
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